Where did February go?

Well I know that most of my February went in a two-week bout of flu, but even so I managed to finish a translation of African Tales by O.D. West, which is soon to be published by Triton in Prague. We are doing the proofs this weekend.
Then a lot of time and energy went retrieving my lost bank and ID cards after the theft of my handbag late January. In addition to that, all has not been plain sailing at work.....
But good things are happening this week for readers and the planet! Check out Ebook week and gogreenreade.com to find out more.
And don't forget to download the first two parts of my novel Moldavite!
If you like online novels, check out the blog online-novels, which has an impressive and eclectic list of free online reading!

Nursing the flu, fighting crime

Apart from finishing my article on Bohumil Hrabal for Words without Borders, I have been out of action with flu for a few days. The financial crisis is hitting street level in the form of increased pickpocketing and burglary. I had my bag stolen in a store, my mother had her house burgled. Still we have a lot to be thankful for.

Online Novels

Yesterday I was contacted by Susan Crealock of Online Novels to post my novel Moldavite on her blog.

Back in Moravia

After a hectic but enjoyable few days on an education conference in Prague, I am at last back in Moravia to relax and write for a few days! Am currently very interested in Words Without Borders and Online Novels and looking forward to more comments from new readers of the first few chapters of my novel Moldavite on Smashwords. There is just such an exciting world of reading and writing out there. What fun!

Moldavite

A lot has been happening since my last post to this blog (too long ago!). Have been having some technical hassles with widgets on this and one of my other blogs. Those darn widgets and templates!
Before Christmas I finished translating African Tales by O.D. West from Czech into English (published by Triton in Prague) and this is now at the publishers.
I am also about to publish my own novel Moldavite. This is an exciting time for me!

Unlocking Shakespeare

On Monday I managed to make a rare connection between my day job as a teacher and the writer alter ego (or is that the other way round?) by attending a one-day workshop by Guy Roberts called Unlocking Shakespeare. What made this so great was that it appealed to me equally as a teacher and as a writer/wordsmith. Greatly to be recommended for erudition, inspirational value and incredible value for money. I have already started using the material I gained at the workshop for my English classes at school, and even seem to have convinced the sceptics among my students that Shakespeare is NOT an instant sleeping tablet, but a vibrant and thrilling opportunity to explore the heights and depths of human experience through the performed word. Can't wait to get my teeth into some more of those iambic pentameters.......

Vacation

Finally I surface again after a hectic summer term in the day job, during which I was promoted to head of department, and have had a major family crisis to deal with. I have spent the last month re-editing my novel, PRAGUE EQUINOX, and am translating a children's book called AFRICAN TALES by O.D. West (from Czech into English). So although out of the blogosphere for a while I have not been idle. I have still found time to spend a few days in Moravia, go to the opera (Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague) and have some pleasant walks in the park at Pruhonice, just outside Prague. I am off to Moravia again for the weekend tomorrow. Oh, and today I get the key to my new flat, so I can start moving!

The Story of Stuff

Poetry

Click here to read some of my poems. Lately I seem to be thinking quite a lot about identity under siege in the workplace, and about the way language is used for content or for packaging.